Liverpool's Milner optimistic he'll return vs. Manchester City

Midfielder James Milner is facing a race against time in order to regain fitness ahead of Liverpool's fixture against his old team.

The English international is hopeful he'll overcome a hamstring injury before his club visits the Etihad Stadium on Nov. 21 to face Manchester City, where Milner played for five seasons before joining the Reds in June.

Milner suffered the injury during Liverpool's Europa League win over Rubin Kazan on Nov. 5 and was subsequently forced to miss a match against Crystal Palace and withdraw from the English national team ahead of friendlies against Spain and France.

"It's always disappointing to miss any games - and obviously missing last weekend and the England games is disappointing," Milner told the team's website.

"It shouldn't be too long and hopefully I'll be back for the next game, but we'll have to wait and see."

While he's optimistic about coming back, Milner stopped short of putting an exact date on his return due to the unpredictable nature of hamstring injuries.